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Landing, if already in Canada
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Berek6683 View Drop Down
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    Posted: 13 Jan 2013 at 12:22am
Hello all,

It has been one long process but we have finally been informed that our Landing papers are en route and should be with us this Monday!

My wife is a Canadian citizen. She sponsored me and my sons (Irish nationals). We have been in Canada on temporary visitor's permits (still valid) and are currently here.

I have been informed that we have two options for "landing" once we receive the landing papers: either go to the CAN/US border or make an appointment with our local CIC office (Halifax, N.S.). The drive to the CAN/US border is roughly 7 hours, each way, while the wait for our local CIC office is between 1-2 months. Understandably, we are rather anxious to "land" and start our lives here in Canada... so, my question is: Is it possible to visit the Halifax International Airport or another port of entry, present all of the necessary documentation and declare PR status that way, or must we visit the CAN/US border or wait for an appointment with our local CIC office? I have seen discussions about whether one can make an appointment with an Immigration officer at a port of entry but never seen any resolutions to those discussions either way. 

My other question is: Once we have been declared landed immigrants, will we receive our PR status immediately (a card, or some other identification) and can we apply for our SINs/MSI cards straightaway or do we need to wait for further documentation to come in the post before we can apply for our SINs/MSI cards? What documentation is actually needed for these?

If anyone has any experience with this, would you kindly inform?

Many thanks.
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dpenabill View Drop Down
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Points: 6407 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dpenabill Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jan 2013 at 1:54am

You are a PR as soon as you land (conditional PR under current program I believe). You do not, however, get a PR card right away, but rather it comes in the mail. Typical timeline is a few weeks. See CIC website for current timeline.

You are entitled to a SIN immediately. You can go directly to an office and get a SIN issued by showing your passport with cancelled visa (cancelled because it you used it in landing), CoPR (paperwork you will be receiving with the Visa, official copy of which is returned to you at the time of landing), and . . . see their website for additional identification requirements. You can thus legally work right away.

Health care coverage depends on provincial rules. Most have a waiting period. Ontario required the PR card itself (CoPR and cancelled visa not sufficient) but because of the waiting period it was not an issue waiting to get the PR card (in the mail) before going to apply for the health care card.

I do not know current options for landing for those already in Canada. When I did it I had to go to a land crossing POE and leave and return, which was just a bit before they started the practice of allowing it to be done at inland local offices. I do not know the practice today. (I suspect that an airport POE cannot be used becaused the POE is ordinarily accessible only via secured passenger arrival area, but I do not know if there are exceptions or if policies have changed.)


Bureaucracy is what bureaucracy does, or When in doubt, follow the instructions. Otherwise, follow the instructions.



BTW: Not an expert, not a Can. lawyer, never worked in immigration
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pmm View Drop Down
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Hi


Originally posted by dpenabill dpenabill wrote:


You are a PR as soon as you land (conditional PR under current program I believe). You do not, however, get a PR card right away, but rather it comes in the mail. Typical timeline is a few weeks. See CIC website for current timeline.

You are entitled to a SIN immediately. You can go directly to an office and get a SIN issued by showing your passport with cancelled visa (cancelled because it you used it in landing), CoPR (paperwork you will be receiving with the Visa, official copy of which is returned to you at the time of landing), and . . . see their website for additional identification requirements. You can thus legally work right away.

Health care coverage depends on provincial rules. Most have a waiting period. Ontario required the PR card itself (CoPR and cancelled visa not sufficient) but because of the waiting period it was not an issue waiting to get the PR card (in the mail) before going to apply for the health care card.

I do not know current options for landing for those already in Canada. When I did it I had to go to a land crossing POE and leave and return, which was just a bit before they started the practice of allowing it to be done at inland local offices. I do not know the practice today. (I suspect that an airport POE cannot be used becaused the POE is ordinarily accessible only via secured passenger arrival area, but I do not know if there are exceptions or if policies have changed.)




1. Can't use an International airport unless arriving from abroad, so it either wait for the appointment or drive to the border.
PMM
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Berek6683 View Drop Down
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Points: 4 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Berek6683 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jan 2013 at 4:12pm
Thanks for your replies! This is what we figured but were kind of being hopeful/optimistic ;-)

Thanks again. It's a drive to the border, I guess!
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computergeek View Drop Down
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Points: 573 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote computergeek Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Jan 2013 at 6:54pm
To land inland, you must call the call centre and book an appointment with a local office. Generally this means waiting 2-8 weeks, sometimes longer.

Even when landing at a POE you're supposed to do it upon entry into Canada.  A friend who landed several years ago was told to go back through the US side at Douglas (Peace Arch) and get his passport stamped for entry.  In an abundance of caution I did the same thing when landing - and both the US and Canadian side seemed familiar with this practice.

I suspect that's at least one reason one cannot land at an airport - if you aren't on an inbound flight, you aren't entering Canada.
FSW applied 6/09, denied (med inadmissible) 12/11. JR leave granted 7/12, discontinued 9/12. Spousal app PPR 9/12. Landed 13 October 2012
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